Access denied for NBA scouts at UConn
Fans, students, cheerleaders, pep bands and, in some cases, media aren’t the only people not allowed into most college basketball games this winter.
NBA scouts have been locked out of most games, particularly on the East Coast, and have largely been unable to see Big East stars like UConn’s James Bouknight, Providence’s David Duke or Villanova’s Jeremiah RobinsonEarl play in person.
This may not hurt a guy like Bouknight, who is almost universally thought of at least a midfirst round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. But it’s the borderline guys, guys fighting to get noticed by teams for a chance to maybe get selected in the second round, or signed later as an undrafted free agent, who could suffer.
“There’s so many instances where you go to see somebody and you kind of notice somebody else,” one Western Conference scout pointed out. “Half of the league are guys that weren’t big stars but are good enough or have a little something to them that they can play at the next level. That’s gonna be much harder to detect.”
For the most part, those players will now have to be found on TV or video, rather than through live scouting. And that’s hardly ideal.
“I can’t tell anything on TV,” the scout said. “Film and TV is good once you’ve already seen somebody, to challenge or confirm what you think you saw. But not as a primary tool. It’s hard.”
UConn has not allowed NBA scouts into games or practices this season, and a team spokesman doesn’t foresee that changing the rest of the winter. UConn is hardly alone: Providence, Boston College, Rhode Island and most other Division I programs in the East aren’t letting scouts in, though Seton Hall and Rutgers are a “maybe” right now. Most of the Big Ten schools are turning down scouts. It’s a bit of a crapshoot the further south you go, however: Louisville has been a “no” so far, but Kentucky has
been a “yes.”
In fact, the scout noted that he’ll be going on his first extended trip this week to “the red states,” starting in Kentucky and moving on to Kansas, Baylor and Texas, where scouts are being permitted.
Not that it’s been impossible to watch top players on the East Coast. Mohegan Sun Arena allowed scouts for its “Bubbleville” games from Nov. 25 to Dec. 3. However, not many took advantage: Just two NBA scouts and one international scout were credentialed, seated way up in the skyboxes (hardly primo viewing).
Of course, part of that is due to the pandemic and how some NBA teams have pared down or cut staff in their respective scouting departments. One longtime Eastern Conference scout said he was essentially forced into retirement due to the pandemic.
He feels for his scouting brethren, as well as the college players who won’t get to be scouted live for most or all of this season.
“You want to eyeball a kid in person, because in person, you see a lot more than you see on TV, or on video or film,” the former Eastern Conference scout said. “Because you get the big picture. You get a feel, the whole thing. I always felt that I wanted to use the film, the video, the TV as a back-up. It’s a great back-up to the eyeball and seeing them in person a couple of times. I want to have a gut feel. That’s what’s helped me over the years.”
And it makes a difference.
“If it was so easy to go watch players on film and TV,” the Western Conference scout pondered, “why would you ever have any scouts?”
BOUKNIGHT ‘DID THE RIGHT THING’
So how does this all affect Bouknight? Again, probably not much. The 6-foot-5 sophomore guard has opened the eyes of the basketball world, averaging 23.2 points per game in his first five games this season and 30 per game in his first two Big East contests.
Take them for what they’re worth, but the mock drafts have Bouknight bordering on a lottery pick: He’s No. 16 overall, per NBADraft.net; NBADraftRoom.com has him going 10th overall.
“He did the right thing. He went back to school and worked on his game,” said the Western Conference scout, who has seen Bouknight play in person several times. “His skill level’s at another level now. He’s playing with a lot more confidence. He was interesting last year as a guy who had different abilities, but nothing was defined yet. His shooting was OK, nothing great. Decision-making wasn’t at a point where he kind of had a feel. Everything: his handle, the way he gets where he needs to go, he’s a lot more aggressive offensively, a lot more confidence in his shooting now, which opens up a lot more stuff for him.”
The scout added that Bouknight probably would have been a mid-second-rounder last season, maybe a little higher. Maybe even a first-rounder.
“It only takes one guy to like you,” he pointed out.
Now, it appears Bouknight is a sure-fire first-rounder and possible lottery pick — even if scouts won’t be able to see him in person much this season.
WHYTE IS ALL RIGHT
New Haven’s Walter Whyte has been picked for the Patriot League’s preseason all-league team by the conference’s coaches and sports information directors. Whyte, a junior forward at Boston University who played two seasons at St. Luke’s in New Canaan, averaged 13 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season for the Terriers. Incidentally, BU was picked to win the league.
And if you’re wondering why a preseason poll came out now, it’s because the Patriot League delayed the start of its season until this weekend. In fact, the Terriers don’t begin play until Monday, when they play at Holy Cross at 2 p.m. Due to the league dividing into three territories for its league season and teams playing opponents on back-to-back weekend games, BU will play six of its 16 league games against Holy Cross.
SAULSBURY STILL ON HALL BALLOT
In this space last week, while highlighting locals who are on this year’s Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ballot, we regretfully neglected to mention the most local of all. Legendary former Wilbur Cross coach Bob Saulsbury is once again on the ballot, where he first appeared in 2017. Saulsbury, 91, won 497 victories and nine CIAC state titles while at Wilbur Cross, including the No. 1 team in the nation in 1974.